GMR case: India Inc wants government to use diplomatic channel

Indian industry today asked the government to use its diplomatic channel to convince Male government not to terminate the $500 million GMR project in the island nation.

Press Trust of India | Last Updated: December 04, 2012 19:35 (IST)

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New Delhi:

Indian industry today asked the government to use its diplomatic channel to convince Male government not to terminate the $500 million GMR project in the island nation.

"India should activate their diplomatic relation to convince Male Government not to terminate the concession agreement which had been entered into as per the transparent bidding process carried out by IFC Washington for the GMR group and joint venture," Assocham said in a statement.

It said the attitude of Male government, despite the rulings of Singapore High Court, will shake the confidence of the investors and will jeopardise the spirit behind the cooperation of the SAARC nations.

The chamber appealed to the Male government to respect the judgement given by the Singapore Court.

It said the move will be detrimental to the growth of the nations and might even "sow seeds of suspicion amongst the potential investors in all times to come".

CII too extended support to the government on the steps taken in the wake of termination of concession agreement of GMR Male International Airport Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between GMR-Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad consortium and MACL.

"It is extremely important for all the concerned parties to respect the sanctity of the Concession Agreement and abide by the provisions provided therein to resolve any dispute within the stipulated legal framework," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.

On Monday, the Singapore high court had stayed the unilateral termination of Indian Infrastructure giant's $500 million Male airport project by the Maldivian government.

After the Maldivian government terminated the contentious project under domestic political pressures, GMR had moved the Singapore high court against the decision. As per the project contract, in case of any differences between parties, the law of either Singapore or UK would apply.

The Maldivian Airport Company Ltd (MACL), based on that government's instructions, had on November 27 terminated the contract, which was given to GMR in 2010 during the previous regime of President Mohamed Nasheed.